7/30/2019 The Scerts
1/2
The SCERTS Model(Prizant, Wetherby, Rubin, Rydell & Laurent,
2006)
The SCERTS Model is a comprehensive, team-based,
multidisciplinary model for
enhancing abilities in Social Communication and Emotional
Regulation, and implementingTransactional Supports for children and
older individuals with autism spectrum disorders(ASD) and their
families. SCERTS is not an exclusive approach, in that it provides
aframework in which practices and strategies from other approaches
may be integrated, suchas Positive Behavioral Supports (ABA),
visual supports, sensory supports, augmentative andalternative
communication (AAC), and Social Stories . The SCERTS model can be
usedwith individuals across a wide range of ages and developmental
abilities. It was developedby Barry Prizant, Amy Wetherby, Emily
Rubin, Amy Laurent and Patrick Rydell, amultidisciplinary team of
clinicians, researchers, and educators who have more than 100years
experience, and have published extensively in the field of
autism.
The focus on Social Communication involves developing
spontaneous, functionalcommunication and secure, trusting
relationships with children and adults. EmotionalRegulation
involves enhancing the ability to maintain a well-regulated
emotional state to bemost available for learning and interacting.
Transactional Support includes supportingchildren, their families,
and professionals to maximize learning, positive relationships
andsuccessful social experiences across home, school and community
settings. The SCERTSModel, emphasizes the importance of child
initiated communication in natural as well assemi-structured
activities for a broad range of purposes such as requesting ,
greeting,expressing emotions and protesting/refusing. Objectives
for the child are developmentallyappropriate and may target both
verbal and non-verbal forms of communication. SCERTS isa
collaborative educational model in that families and educators work
together to identify
and develop strategies to successfully engage the child in
meaningful daily activities.
SCERTS differs from the focus of "traditional" ABA that
typically targets children'sresponses in adult directed discrete
trials with the use of behavioral techniques to teachlanguage. In
contrast, the focus of the SCERTS model is on promoting
child-initiatedcommunication in everyday activities. In philosophy
and practice, SCERTS is closer to"contemporary" ABA practices such
as Pivotal Response Training and Incidental Teaching,which use
natural activities in a variety of social situations, as well as
semi-structuredteaching in social routines. In contrast to most ABA
practices, SCERTS relies extensivelyon visual supports (e.g.,
photos, picture symbols) for supporting Social Communication
andEmotional Regulation. SCERTS is based on child development
research and research on the
core challenges in autism, in a manner similar to Floortime and
RDI.
The SCERTS Model is most concerned with helping persons with
autism to achieveAuthentic Progress, which is defined as the
ability to learn and apply functional skills in avariety of
settings and with a variety of partners. All of a child's partners,
includingeducators, therapists, parents, siblings and peers
potentially play an important role in aSCERTS Model Program,
because activities in which goals and objectives are
addressedinclude daily routines at home and school, as well as
special therapies and activities that
7/30/2019 The Scerts
2/2
have the potential to enhance abilities in independent and
self-help skills, with a particularemphasis on social communication
and emotional regulation. For example, mealtimes acrosshome and
school settings may have the same objectives that include using
pictures, wordsand/or gestures to select food items, to observe and
imitate partners in order to benefit from
their social models, and to respond to a partners' attempts to
support a good emotional statethat results in sustained attention
and active participation. Objectives in play and social skillsmay
also be identified and targeted at school with classmates, as well
as at home withsiblings or cousins. A plan to support a child's
emotional regulation across each day is alsodeveloped based on a
child's needs. The plan may include regularly scheduled exercise
andregulating breaks, opportunities for sensory and motor
activities, and a plan used by allpartners to modify learning
environments. Partners also become expert at reading a
child'ssignals of emotional dysregulation and responding with
appropriate support as needed tomaximize attention and learning and
to prevent escalation into more problematic behavior(e.g., offering
deep pressure, simplifying difficult tasks. clarifying tasks
through the use of visuals e.g., 2 more then we are all done).
When observing activities in the SCERTS Model, there is always a
high priority placed on:1) children initiating as well as
responding to partner's verbal and nonverbalcommunication;2)
children actively participating in activities with adults and
peers, with an emphasis on
joyful, shared positive emotional experience, and the
development of trusting relationships,3) partners implementing a
range of interpersonal and learning supports to help a child bemost
available for learning and engaging,4) partners being highly
responsive and supportive in a flexible manner that depends on
thechild's emotional state, distractions in the setting, the
child's success in the activity and theneed for appropriate levels
of support to actively participate.
In SCERTS, there is a great emphasis on child initiation in
natural as well as semi-structuredactivities for a very broad range
of communicative functions (e.g., greeting, requestingcomfort,
protesting/refusing, calling). Objectives are developmentally
sequenced, includingnonverbal (e.g., gestures) as well as verbal
communication and are selected based on achild's functional needs
in daily activities as determined by the child's team. Thus, the
focusof the SCERTS model on promoting child-initiated communication
in everyday activitiesdiffers from the focus of "traditional" ABA,
that typically targets children's responses inadult directed
Discrete Trials with the use of behavioral techniques to teach
language. InPhilosophy and practice, SCERTS is closer to
"contemporary" ABA practices such asPivotal Response Training and
Incidental Teaching, which use natural activities in a variety
of social situations with a variety of partners (peers and
different adults), as well as semi-structured teaching in social
routines. SCERTS also relies on visual supports (e.g.,
photos,picture symbols) extensively for supporting Social
Communication and EmotionalRegulation to a greater extent than ABA,
and is based on child development research andresearch on the core
challenges in autism, in a manner similar to Floortime and RDI.
For further information, including a detailed list of FAQ's and
research support for theSCERTS Model, go to www.SCERTS.com .
http://www.scerts.com/http://www.scerts.com/
